Dallington Forest of Peace, Remembrance & Community

Peep, peep, peace! Kia tau te rangimārie ki runga i a koutou / Let peace settle on all.

You have arrived at the Forest of Peace, Remembrance and Community in Dallington, near the Dallington Landing. As your feathered ‘fan-trail’ guide, Huanui, may I suggest you pause quietly for a moment here.

As befitting the purpose of the park, you might want to remember those who have made a positive impact on your life. Why is remembering them important?

Take a minute to feel gratitude for the relatively peaceful society in New Zealand. In what ways might you help resolve tension or conflict in your school, community…or beyond? 

The forest here was created as part of centenary celebrations of Rotary New Zealand, a community service organisation open to men and women. It’s hoped 100 such forests are established throughout New Zealand over a 10-year period, to help tackle climate change problems.

More than 40,000 native trees, shrubs and grasses have been planted with the help of Conservation Volunteers New Zealand, the city council and local residents. Mighty tōtara, kahikatea and mataī are growing here.  

Among them, you might also spot fruit trees and other exotic trees from former home gardens. They will provide shelter until the native plants grow up. Clever, eh?! 

The regeneration of this forest, and the Green Spine you are exploring, is a long-term, multi-generational project. It’s expected to take up to 50 years for the wetlands and bush corridor to become re-established. By my maths, it will be my great…great…great … hmmm….it will be ten generations of fantail (after me) who will get to see it all mature.

Quiz time: Did you know that the Green Spine is three-and-a-half times larger than Hagley Park? Imagine future descendents (human and birds like me) playing under the shade of a giant tōtara. All on re-planted land on which 5,000 homes once stood!

Links:

Forest of Peace info

https://conservationvolunteers.co.nz/portfolio/dallington-landing-christchurch/

https://hail.to/rotary-on-the-move/article/238RpJx

Next steps:

Ongoing local Conservation Volunteers projects

https://volunteerportal.conservationvolunteers.co.nz/s/make-booking